One-car accident in Loveland damages Village Inn sign

Alcohol and speed are believed to be contributing factors in the Tuesday morning accident

By Shelley Widhalm Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
01/01/2013 05:38:18 PM MST

Emergency personnel work the scene of an accident early Tuesday morning at which a single car crashed into a sign outside of the Village Inn restaurant at 1225 W. Eisenhower Blvd. in Loveland.
(Shannon Lewis)

A 21-year-old Loveland man driving westbound on Eisenhower Boulevard early Tuesday morning lost control of his car and struck the Village Inn sign.

Daudi Kariuki Njenga ran off the right side of the roadway in his 1982 Chevrolet Camaro before hitting the sign at the restaurant, 1225 W. Eisenhower Blvd. He and his passenger, Alyssa Karizmine, 22, of Milliken, sustained injuries and were transported to McKee Medical Center.

The Loveland Police Department got a call about the accident at approximately 2:26 a.m.

"I heard the screeching and the hit," said Shannon Lewis, who lives across the street from Village Inn and called the police department when she saw that the accident had occurred. "The driver got out of the car. There was a girl trapped in the passenger side. She was screaming and crying. They had to use a saw and Jaws of Life to get her out."

The LPD Technical Accident Reconstruction Team was called in to investigate. Alcohol and speed are believed to be contributing factors to the accident.

"(Police) thought they were going 75 or 80 mph. It's unconfirmed," said Sgt. Bob Shaffer of the Loveland Police Department. "Alcohol is suspected but it hasn't been confirmed yet."

The Larimer County District Attorney's office will review the case for possible criminal charges.

Westbound Eisenhower was closed for a short time during the investigation.The Village Inn sign is "pretty badly damaged," said Amber Tonsing, manager at the restaurant, adding that the district manager will be in later Tuesday to look at the sign.

"The whole top part of the sign is all coming apart, and the bottom part is all dented in."

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